Applying user journey design to resolve complex design problems

Abstract

The proliferation of complex problems in a world of increasing indeterminacy, not least within developing contexts, places new demands on stakeholders, educators, students, practitioners and theorists. A user, or customer, journey is a schematic representation of the path a user will take through lifecycle stages, touchpoints, channels, interaction modes, emotional states, content and functionality. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we position User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous selfreflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the student designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems. Initially the paper present a history and review of the literature, application and limitations of User Journey Design in practice today which explores related literature from Design Thinking and the nature of indeterminacy in design (Buchanan, 1992, Brown 2008, Cross 2006,) to set the context for an approach that broadens the relevance and application of User Journey Design. This paper then present two examples of student design work that demonstrate the application of user journey design in the resolution of complex problems. User Journeys provide a structured approach to synthesizing large amounts of data in self-reflective, humanistic ways, where the path through complexity can be traced back from artifact to the original problem-formation. It is in this respect that User Journey Design not only provides an approach to solving problems that emerge through complexity, but also narrows the gap between practice, research and teaching